ROCKFORD - An investigation is underway into how a female prisoner was able to steal a Winnebago County Sheriff's Police squad car around 1 p.m. Thursday and lead authorities on a nearly two-hour manhunt, Sheriff Richard Meyers said.

The woman, Kristina D. McNutt, 43, of Rockford, who has a history of prostitution and drug arrests, ditched the stolen squad car on Fielding Road southwest of Rockford as numerous city, county and state law enforcement officers mobilized to find her and the stolen vehicle.

Whether it was necessary for Senior Deputy Donald Hartshorn to stop for fuel before completing the journey to the Winnebago County Jail, how the woman managed to slip out of handcuffs and how she then got behind the wheel and drive off are lingering questions that must be answered, Meyers said.

"There is no way you can talk about this without simply going back and looking at the circumstances involved," Meyers said. "What did the prisoner do and what negligence on the part of the officer, if any, allowed the prisoner to get away. She did, it's unacceptable and it shouldn't have happened."

A news release said the incident is being reviewed by sheriff's administrative personnel to identify whether any policy violations occurred, further training is needed or corrective action should be taken.

Hartshorn was sent to retrieve the woman from Cook County, where she was arrested on a contempt warrant. Hartshorn told responding officers he stopped for gasoline at the Mobil at 550 Southrock Drive.

While refueling, McNutt managed to steal the car by allegedly slipping out of her handcuffs and chains, then escaping from the backseat. Hartshorn attempted to pursue on foot.

Meyers said if the handcuffs were loose enough for her to slip her wrists free, her belly chains also would have come free.

The woman drove the car south on Prairie Road and then turned onto Fielding, a dead-end residential street in a rural area southwest of Rockford not far from the gas station.

She was in plain clothes, not in jail clothing, and was able to catch a ride from someone. She was dropped off in Rockford in the area of Seventh Street and Sawyer Road as police continued to search for her and the vehicle.

McNutt was found hiding in a garage in the 3100 block of Seventh Street and taken into custody without further incident.

She is being held in the Winnebago County Jail without bond on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and escape from a peace officer.

Meyers said a detailed investigation is underway.

"There's a whole lot of issues here," Meyers said. "This is not an equipment issue. There is no other issue than it is the responsibility of the officer for the safekeeping of a prisoner ... and when one gets away, you have to go back and look at the conduct of the officer."

Page 2 of 2 - On Jan. 8, a St. Charles man stole an ambulance from Rockford Memorial Hospital and later abandoned it in McHenry County. Paul S. Chandler, 51, was later captured at the Belvidere Walmart and faces charges of aggravated assault and stealing a vehicle.